A Phoenix in Disguise
by RosalieBrandstetter
Summary: Slytherin at mind, Gryffindor at heart. Severus Snape.


**The Phoenix in Disguise  
Summery: **Slytherin at mind, Gryffindor at heart. Severus Snape. **  
I do not own Severus Snape, or anything else Harry Potter related- that belongs to J.K Rowling. I actually had the idea for this quite awhile, but only just got around to finishing it. It flowed better in my mind then on paper, but I'm still quite happy with it, although it does drone on a bit, I hope you guys like it. **

Severus Snape was born on the ninth of January, 1960 to Eileen Prince, a witch, and Tobias Snape, a muggle. Severus' life at home was void of love, and was filled with violence, both magical and non-magical. His mother really did try to give him love, which is probably why he took on the alias of 'the Half-Blood Prince'; because he really had loved his mother. His father was an entirely different matter though. Severus enjoyed escaping his home to the park down the street, and he dreaded returning to the place that he lived. The park had been his escape, and the place where he met the beautiful Lily, the girl he knew was like him. Different.

He seen her all the time, watched her, it until the Summer of 1966 that he actually met her, sitting on the swings with her older sister. The two girls were very different, not just physically but the way they had acted was different. Lily was sweet and Petunia was sour. And even so, Lily admired her older sister and Petunia would have done anything for Lily. But that was then. He had been hiding the bushes, watching the way the younger one, the one with vivid red hair startling emerald green eyes, when some older boys had found and decided they'd have some fun with small and thin six year old. Lily and Petunia had overheard this, and came over. It was Lily who told the boys to stop, and they did. Because when someone like Lily was upset about something, strange things happened. And that was the day that Severus Snape knew that Lily Evans was a witch.

After that day, Severus and Lily began to play at the park together. Petunia didn't approve of Severus, and Lily's friendship with the half-blood wizard was one of the first cracks in the two sisters' relationship. Petunia blamed, and always will blame, Severus for Lily being a freak.

Severus and Lily remained close friends as their childhood progressed, Lily was the first person to be nice to Severus, and even at a young age Severus knew that he loved Lily with all his heart. Severus eventually told Lily that she was witch, just like him, and at first she'd been offended and afraid. But she accepted it, because she knew she was different. Both children were happy to be accepted into Hogwarts, so that they could be able to practice magic together.

Hogwarts had seemed like a wonderful dream, and it was, at first. Sure, he'd been upset to be sorted in a different house from Lily, but it wasn't until fifth year that they had been truly separated. Life was fine, until he'd made enemies with that Potter, until they bullied him and had to be saved by her all those times. He could deal with Potter, and Black. So long as he had her. But he didn't, not after he called her a mudblood in his moment of rage. It's amazing how the magic of his first, and only, true friendship could be undone by the power of muttering such a word. Severus did apologize, but he never asked for her forgiveness. He didn't think he deserved it.

After his friendship with Lily ended, Severus began to dabble more in the dark arts, associate with the wrong crowd. Severus had always been interested by that, but it was as if Lily and her everlasting light had been only thing stopping him from reaching for the dark. And now it was gone, she was gone from his life, he couldn't stop himself.

After Severus left Hogwarts, he made the biggest mistake of his life. He joined the Death Eaters – a group of dark wizards who followed the Dark Lord, Voldemort. Severus isn't exactly sure why he did it; perhaps he joined to make himself feel strong, like he was a part of something. Even though Severus was so young, it wasn't long before he was accepted into the most inner circle of followers. The Dark Lord had found something he liked in the young wizard. Severus was intelligent, and very magically gifted, but maybe it was Severus' similar upbringing, that the Dark Lord felt made Severus worthy of such a high position. But no matter what the reason the Dark Lord had, Bellatrix Lestrange, his most loyal fighter, still deemed Severus untrustworthy.

Even though Severus had become a Death Eater, he still kept an eye on his favourite muggle born. He'd been surprised by her marriage and childbearing to Potter. He wanted Lily to be happy, and if Potter made her happy then so be it. He just wished that he was one she'd said 'I do' to, and it was his son she'd given birth to. And it could have been, had he not been such an idiot. No he was mainly disappointed in himself for that one.

Severus remembered that time he overheard that old bat, Trelawney, making that prophecy to old Dumbledore about the 'Chosen One' - a wizard who would be the defeat the Dark Lord. Being the loyal death eater he was Severus had told the Dark Lord about it. But Severus only knew half of it, and if he'd known that telling the Dark Lord endangered his precious Lily, he wouldn't have said anything. But you can't change the past mistakes, but you can try and fix them. And try was what he did. He went to Dumbledore, the only person whom Lord Voldemort was afraid of. That was the night that he learnt his old headmaster was not the happy go lucky man he had seemed to be. No, Albus Dumbledore was a very manipulative man.

Dumbledore did what he could but in the end it had worked. There was a rat in the Order, supposedly Sirius Black. Deep down Severus didn't believe this, Sirius may not have been the nicest person but he was certainly loyal to James Potter. But then again, he was a Black, and sometimes it is easier to blame what it looked like, then to look for something else. Severus was angry and depressed. He had lost his Lily. But somehow, this boy, barely older than one, had lived. Severus swore to protect Lily's son, for it is the only thing of her that remained on this earth.

Harry Potter. Severus had been apprehensive of the boys' arrival at Hogwarts. One look at the boy, and Severus was reminded of James Potter, his biggest tormentor. His biggest shock, however, was when he looked at the boys eyes. They reminded him so much of Lily, they were the same sparkly emerald green. Severus didn't know which part of the boy who lived was more likely to kill him. Now that Severus thinks about it, he regrets having treated the boy so badly. Severus likes to think of himself as a mature man, but his treatment of Potter was very immature. It wasn't Harry's fault that James had found fun in harassing Severus.

Severus Tobias Snape has many, many regrets in his life. From calling Lily a mudblood, to being the man who had had pretty much sentenced Lily and her husband to death, he had made many mistakes. But in the end of his life, he was proud, because he played a role in the defeat of Tom Marvolo Riddle. And as he lay there dying, with the Chosen One beside him, the only thing he had left was were his memories, the ones he passed to Harry. "Look at me," he managed to croak out. He wanted the last thing he saw before going to hell to be Lily's eyes, so he would always remember, and as he looked into those emerald green depths that Harry had inherited, Severus died a happy man.

Severus didn't go to hell like he thought he would have. Instead he found himself welcomed into a place without a name. It was obviously a place where the good guys went. Albus and Lily, James and Sirius, members of order were here. He was greeted with thanks from Lily. James and Sirius gave him respectful smiles for once. Severus joined the group huddling around watching the battle in the living world beneath unfold. Everyone cheered when the good side won. And those who had died began to mourn their loss of life.

Several years later, on the ninth of January, 2006 – a day that would have been Severus' forty-sixth birthday, had he still lived- something exciting happened in the world of the living. Ginny Weasley, now Potter, had just given birth to her and Harry's second son. Everyone from the Weasley-Potter clan surrounded the proud parents to welcome the latest addition to the family. The child had a full head of black hair, and when he opened his eyes he had the same emerald green eyes from his father and grandmother.

"What are you going to name him?" asked Molly, the Weasley matriarch.

"Albus," Ginny replied.

"Albus Severus Potter." Harry added. There was a mixture of reactions amongst the Weasley's; they were mostly shocked but understood the reasoning. Some wore smiles. Severus himself was shocked, but was grinning wildly for the most part. He knew this kid would be special. Severus was now happy, he'd been forgiven for his mistakes and the Afterlife really wasn't that bad.

_  
**The End.**

**So, tell me what you think?**


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